These Retro Panini Stickers Show What This Year’s European Championship Managers Looked Like As Players

These Retro Panini Stickers Show What This Year’s European Championship Managers Looked Like As Players

Did you know that many of the football managers for this year's European Championship were players once? It's true – we've even got the panini stickers to prove it. If you haven't thought about the popular footie stickers since you were a child, here's a quick recap. Italian company Panini releases an album every footie tournament and it's up to fans to try and fill the album with all the different stickers, either by purchasing sticker packs or swapping with other fans. This year's album contains a whopping 680 spaces that need to be filled! And let's not forget about the shinnies (shimmery stickers that are more rare and expensive)...

But panini stickers aren't just for kids - in fact, you'd need a whole lot of pocket money to fill this year's album up (nearly £400 by some estimates). Nostalgic adults are also getting in on the sticker action, eagerly trying to collect all the players and managers in this year's European Championship. So to celebrate the football this summer, we take a look at some of the current manager's old panini stickers. Can you recognise them?

FRANCE (Deschamps)

French footballer Didier Claude Deschamps may be the current manager of France, but he played as a defensive midfielder for clubs such as Chelsea,Juventus and Marseille back in the day.

GERMANY (Löw)

Head coach Joachim Löw led the German national team to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil - can he do it again this year?

SPAIN (Del Bosque)

You may recognise Vicente del Bosque - he still sports a very impressive moustache. Del Bosque is currently the manager of the Spanish national team and is to date the only football manager to have won the Champions League, the European Championship, the World Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.

ITALY (Conte)

This former midfielder made a name for himself playing for Juventus and has also played for the Italian national team. After the European Championship, Conte is scheduled to take charge of Chelsea football club.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (O'Neill)

Look at that hair! The Irish football manager spent most of his playing career with Nottingham Forest but has managed many teams since the 80s including Norwich City, Aston Villa and Sunderland.